Magnus Anderson wrote:I am not working at all. And I am financially secure for the rest of my life. Nonetheless, the future is bleak. So unless you want to commit suicide, just keep working. Working distracts from reality.

K: well aren't we special.... trust fund baby, well, that would explain a whole lot about you......

Kropotkin

"Those who sacrifice liberty for securitywind up with neither." "Ben Franklin"

Truth is more important than desires.Work is about desire . . . for material security.I'd rather die penniless knowing that was my destiny, my real life, than live a no-life of a slave who's controlled by his desires because he's unconditionally clinging onto them.

I got a philosophy degree, I'm not upset that I can't find work as a philosopher. It was my decision, and I knew that it wasn't a money making degree, so I get money elsewhere.-- Mr. Reasonable

Truth is more important than desires.Work is about desire . . . for material security.I'd rather die penniless knowing that was my destiny, my real life, than live a no-life of a slave who's controlled by his desires because he's unconditionally clinging onto them.

Heard this argument for decades, and how a workers paradise can solve this problem. Yes, under Communism there was no homelessness, unemployment, there was guaranteed health care and education for free, there was comeradeship among the proletariat, yet, it failed. Wonder why?

jerkey wrote:Heard this argument for decades, and how a workers paradise can solve this problem. Yes, under Communism there was no homelessness, unemployment, there was guaranteed health care and education for free, there was comeradeship among the proletariat, yet, it failed. Wonder why?

I never said anything about communism.You can be a minimalist in a capitalist society to some extent.Also communism is a very diverse economic philosophy, there's many ways to do it, and degrees.

Gloominary wrote:There are other problems, but excessive work is one of the major ones, in my estimation.

If you're a simple organism, with few needs, then yes.However, if you're a complex organism, with great number of needs, then no.

Working less won't resolve much, indeed it's only going to reduce unnecessary build up of energy and subsequent need to release it, because it will bring to your attention other needs and make you depressed once you understand that we are living in the age of decadence and that these needs will most likely never be met.

This is why I say . . . keep working.I say this to people who want to run away and hide from reality.The more you work, the less you see, the less you worry.It's a well known fact . . . people would rather harm themselves than listen to their thoughts.

There are simpletons everywhere who do nothing but work.It's all work for them.Nothing else.

I got a philosophy degree, I'm not upset that I can't find work as a philosopher. It was my decision, and I knew that it wasn't a money making degree, so I get money elsewhere.-- Mr. Reasonable

work sucks..why spend your life doing things you don't want to do, for money you probably don't need.. i'm not married, don't have children nor do i have a mortgage..so why should i work as much as somebody who has all those things and needs to support them...if you wanted them, then support them and work...but there aint no way you're turning all those work hours into a fucking standard for everybody else..

Pointless money vs time. Time wins everytime, it's precious..

I am also financially secure for life and currently maintain low living costs...

exercising, reading books, watching movies, playing world of warcraft with aaron, and painting is way more important....

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

Work is a great form of obedient civil service in the global plantation if you can find some in what is otherwise comprised of global economic instability (Huge swathes of the unemployed or unemployable). *Laughs*

Civilization is a ship of fools headed to a one way destination of catastrophe and annihilation, its many captains populated by asshole-idiots that all agree it is unsinkable.

Mictlantecuhtli wrote:Work is a great form of obedient civil service in the global plantation if you can find some in what is otherwise comprised of global economic instability (Huge swathes of the unemployed or unemployable). *Laughs*

Yea, it's an unfortunate state of affairs, that the economy is rigged in such a way, so that the working/'middle class' (if there is such a thing anymore) must work very hard producing luxuries almost exclusively for those who produce little-nothing for no one, just so they can afford necessities for themselves and their families, but hey, they throw us an iphone or a video game everyone once in a while, so it's all good.

Gloominary wrote:I'm thinking of working less, because my expenses are low right now, and the more time/energy I put into work, the less I have for other things, like art, philosophy, health and fitness.

"Low right now" can change on a dime. Balance is the name of the game.You decide to work less now and when life turns around and bites you "you know where" you won't have much time to enjoy all of the above ~~ you will be too preoccupied, too snowed under, to enjoy those things. You will ask yourself: "Why, oh why, didn't I learn the lesson which the squirrels try to teach me.

Observe the squirrels!!!!!!!! Try for a happy medium. Swim somewhere between the stoic and the epicurean.

SAPERE AUDE!

If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I would feel trapped.

What we take ourselves to be doing when we think about what is the case or how we should act is something that cannot be reconciled with a reductive naturalism, for reasons distinct from those that entail the irreducibility of consciousness. It is not merely the subjectivity of thought but its capacity to transcend subjectivity and to discover what is objectively the case that presents a problem....Thought and reasoning are correct or incorrect in virtue of something independent of the thinker's beliefs, and even independent of the community of thinkers to which he belongs.

Gloominary wrote:I'm thinking of working less, because my expenses are low right now, and the more time/energy I put into work, the less I have for other things, like art, philosophy, health and fitness.

"Low right now" can change on a dime. Balance is the name of the game.You decide to work less now and when life turns around and bites you "you know where" you won't have much time to enjoy all of the above ~~ you will be too preoccupied, too snowed under, to enjoy those things. You will ask yourself: "Why, oh why, didn't I learn the lesson which the squirrels try to teach me.

Observe the squirrels!!!!!!!! Try for a happy medium. Swim somewhere between the stoic and the epicurean.

While moderation is generally good advice, I think I'm going to do as little as possible for now.I'm pretty resourceful, I think I'll be able to handle whatever comes up.I'm a minimalist, I can get by with very little.Maybe when I'm in my late 30s or early 40s I'll think about my financial future more, right now I've got other priorities.

mannikin wrote:work sucks..why spend your life doing things you don't want to do, for money you probably don't need.. i'm not married, don't have children nor do i have a mortgage..so why should i work as much as somebody who has all those things and needs to support them...if you wanted them, then support them and work...but there aint no way you're turning all those work hours into a fucking standard for everybody else..

Pointless money vs time. Time wins everytime, it's precious..

I am also financially secure for life and currently maintain low living costs...

exercising, reading books, watching movies, playing world of warcraft with aaron, and painting is way more important....

Agreed, unless you have those things or want them, and not everybody does, increasingly fewer people do, you don't owe anyone anything, just work as much as you need to, or feel like, and then spend the remainder of your energies on whatever you're passionate about, or interested in.

Gloominary wrote:There are other problems, but excessive work is one of the major ones, in my estimation.

If you're a simple organism, with few needs, then yes.However, if you're a complex organism, with great number of needs, then no.

Working less won't resolve much, indeed it's only going to reduce unnecessary build up of energy and subsequent need to release it, because it will bring to your attention other needs and make you depressed once you understand that we are living in the age of decadence and that these needs will most likely never be met.

This is why I say . . . keep working.I say this to people who want to run away and hide from reality.The more you work, the less you see, the less you worry.It's a well known fact . . . people would rather harm themselves than listen to their thoughts.

There are simpletons everywhere who do nothing but work.It's all work for them.Nothing else.

Humans are too complicated in some respects, and our society reinforces this imbalance rather than mitigating it.Strive to satisfy your needs, and then strive no more, or if you are going to strive for something else, it doesn't have to be material, monetary or work related.Strive for art, or philosophy, or health, or making the world a better place.There's so much more to life than the drudgery of work.

I'm pretty resourceful, I think I'll be able to handle whatever comes up.

Belief is not reality. Who knows how you will be in your 30s or 40s.

I'm a minimalist, I can get by with very little.

If that is the case, it would be a good idea to store up some of your nuts ~ in the bank.

Maybe when I'm in my late 30s or early 40s I'll think about my financial future more, right now I've got other priorities.

Will you be the wise or the foolish virgin? lol

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming;[a] go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour[b] when you shall be broke......

“Why didn't I learn to treat everything like it was the last time. My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.” ― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

“The mistakes I've made are dead to me. But I can't take back the things I never did.” ― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

“Each day has been chained to the previous one. But the weeks have wings. Anyone who believes that a second is faster than a decade did not live my life.” ― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This squirrel finds that being resourceful enough to put some nuts in the bank can be a fun and satisfying challenge.Learn to multi-task.

Aside from that, your life is your life.

SAPERE AUDE!

If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I would feel trapped.

What we take ourselves to be doing when we think about what is the case or how we should act is something that cannot be reconciled with a reductive naturalism, for reasons distinct from those that entail the irreducibility of consciousness. It is not merely the subjectivity of thought but its capacity to transcend subjectivity and to discover what is objectively the case that presents a problem....Thought and reasoning are correct or incorrect in virtue of something independent of the thinker's beliefs, and even independent of the community of thinkers to which he belongs.